Tina Ivins is the Executive Director of Family Support Network™ of Southeastern NC. She’s been with FSN™ since 2003. She worked her way from a NICU support parent to a Program Coordinator, and now is a certified provider of the Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) Stepping Stones Seminar. She has worked on many different projects including Innovative Approaches, NICU Support, and facilitating support groups. She is a trainer for Babies Easy Safe Sleep Training and Parent Mentor Training. Tina has served on several Local Interagency and Regional Coordinating Councils, Steering Committees for Innovative Approaches, and the Tri County Community Collaborative. She co-founded Coastal Bringing Up Down Syndrome, the local Down Syndrome Association.

Tina began her career after the birth of her daughter, who has Down syndrome. The experience of raising a child who was in the NICU with multiple health issues gave Tina a unique perspective, and she’s been able to use that experience to aid others who are going through a similar experience. She has navigated the education system for individuals with Intellectual/ Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and works with service providers who provide direct supports to individuals with IDD.

Kelly Powers is certified in a variety of trainings that benefit families of children with special health care needs including Triple P Stepping Stones Seminar, Community Health Worker, Family Navigation Services, and Parent Mentor Training. In 2015, Kelly began working for Family Support Network of Southern Piedmont where her primary role included Project Baby Reach NICU Program Coordinator. She served as the Innovative Approaches Parent Outreach Coordinator for Rowan, Union, and Gaston Counties, and served on the Innovative Approaches Steering Committee for Cabarrus County. Kelly spent much of her time working one-on-one with families, as well as multiple community stakeholders to collaborate and build partnerships in order to improve the service system for families with children and youth with special healthcare needs.

Kelly and her husband have three adult children and recently relocated to the Wilmington area. Kelly’s passion for working with children with special healthcare needs came naturally as she learned to advocate for her own daughter who was diagnosed with multiple developmental disabilities shortly after birth. In her free time, Kelly and her husband love to spend quality time with their family, enjoy the beach and travel. They also run a non-profit organization that strives to provide better mental health support and resources for first responders, veterans, and their family members.

Mallory Jones is the Outreach Coordinator for Family Support Network of Southeastern North Carolina. She is married with four children. With her husband Keith’s support, she has learned firsthand the challenges of navigating resources for children with different abilities. Mallory has researched and learned everything she can in order to navigate her own son’s education after he was diagnosed with autism. Mallory is a fierce advocate for all children of all abilities. She will go above and beyond to make sure those around her are cared for, protected, and given every chance they need to grow into the person they desire to be.

Grelynn Bradley is a community leader and the creator and administrator of a popular Facebook group: Autism Spectrum. She leads a support group leader for the Autism Society of NC NHC and is the NHC Special Education PTA Vice President. In addition, Grelynn participates in Novant Health’s People with Disabilities Community Voice Council, Access Family Services, NHCS Advisory Council for Exceptional Children, SPARK PAC Community Advisory Council, and Catherine Truitt’s NCDPI Parent Advisory Commission.

Grelynn is a single parent to an amazing son with Autism. She spends her free time vacationing with her son, watching action movies, reading, and participating in USTA Tennis.

Brooke DeAmaral is the coordinator for the local county for Special Olympics. She has been in the position for 3 years, but has served as a volunteer and coach for 18 years. Her sister has an intellectual disability, which started her passion young to be able to find inclusive programming they could both participate in. She went to school for elementary education, but found a passion in providing direct programming for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities.

It is important to Brooke to serve on FSN™ Board because she thinks it will help close the gap between services and parents that might not know what support is available to them. It is very important to her that children of all abilities are supported, and families given all the opportunities to do so.

Veronica “Kay” Freeman holds over 20 years of experience in public service, working in the areas of workforce development, community and mental health, and public education. Serving high-risk, minority student populations is a type of calling she has accepted with enthusiasm, always ready to take on the next role as an advocate whenever the need arises. Over the years, she has served on various community boards including Robeson County Disaster Recovery Coalition, American Indian Women of Proud Nations Co-chair, Innovative Approaches Community Advisory Board, and Healthy Robeson, while maintaining a local non-profit food pantry, Union Chapel Harvest Ministries since 2007. Kay is currently serving in a collaborative position at Robeson Community College as the Transfer Coordinator Advocate for the NASNTI, Native American Serving Nontribal Institutions Grant, and assisting the Whole Community Connection grant in relational leadership expansion efforts as a community advisor.

Meredith Mulford is married with two children and lives in Carolina Beach. She and her husband, Mikey, run Carolina Cribs, a local baby equipment rental company. Meredith has worked in consulting, internal and external, in both banking and government. She is a certified Reconnect for Resilience Trainer and on the steering committee for the Tri-County Community Collaborative.

Meredith holds a BA from Agnes Scott College, an MBA from Georgia Tech and received her Lean Six Sigma black belt from the University of Houston. Her favorite things to do are travel, coach soccer, ride bikes, and play cards.

Tawnya Rayman is the Director of the Children’s Developmental Services Agency (CDSA) of the Cape Fear. Tawnya has been with the CDSA since 2007 when she began her career in Fayetteville as an Early Intervention Service Coordinator (EISC). Prior to her time with the CDSA, Tawnya worked in the classroom with preschool-aged children with special needs in a developmental day program in the Fayetteville area for over eight years. She currently participates on the Local Interagency Coordinating Council for New Hanover County which brings organizations together who serve children to provide public awareness for community resources for families.

Tawnya’s interest in serving on the Family Support Network board stems from the partnership between the CDSA has with FSN for many years. Cape Fear and FSN of Southeast NC serve many of the same counties and Tawnya would like to be involved to ensure that both organizations will continue reach more families in the area with much needed trainings and services.

Ryanne Zavacky is speech-language pathologist who serves as the Assistive Technology Coordinator for Brunswick County School District and runs a small private practice specializing in augmentative and alternative communication. Her passion is working with families and their children who have developmental disabilities to provide them all with a voice to build social relationships and advocate for their rights as individuals.

It was important to Ryanne to serve Family Support Network because the purpose of communication is human connection. FSN creates that human connection with their ongoing nurturance of families through training, resources, and referrals that benefit their amazing children while promoting a community of support.